In 2015 we started reaching out to UK-based organisations working on genocide and mass atrocities to try and improve collaboration in the sector. This was immediately driven by plans to organise activity to mark the inaugural International Day of Genocide Awareness and Prevention on 9 December, but has developed into a vibrant group bringing together members spanning the worlds of academia, civil society, diaspora, charities, and NGOs.
All are committed to ensuring that the issues of genocide, identity-based violence, atrocity prevention, and responsibility to protect are a prominent part of UK foreign policy discourse. Our goal is to bring together groups with remarkably similar struggles, aims and mandates, whether these groups have experienced genocide themselves, or have been involved in conflicts that have not yet been labelled genocide by a critical mass of the international community, to speak with a single voice about the need to make ‘never again’ a reality.
We have in previous years marked 9 December with dedicated film screenings, community events, and high-level panels in the Foreign Office, and the group has collaborated on projects throughout the year, for instance the Play2Remember London football tournament bringing together survivor groups. Read more about these under ‘Events’.
